HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR E-COMMERCE PRODUCTS ON SOCIAL WITHOUT BEING SALESY?
Businesses today understand that digital marketing is a force to reckon with and are investing larger sums of money into digital marketing campaigns. The side-effect is that there is too much noise and clutter on the internet for an average internet user. Data suggest that an internet user faces over 11,000 ads per month and thousands of emails that go straight to the spam folder. So, it is crucial that brands promote their e-commerce products while not being too salesy about it. This is because customers of today see right through ad campaigns and refuse to be lured into buying products that are simply visible. A good digital marketing certification course will equip even senior marketers to effectively incorporate digital marketing into overall marketing strategies, optimize spending on digital media and leverage social media platforms to promote products and improve brand awareness.
Here are some ways to promote ecommerce product on social media without being salesy:
Collaborate with social media influencers: Social media influencers are typically social media users who have credibility in a specific field/ niche and have access to a large audience that they regularly engage with. They use their credibility, knowledge, reach and relationship to influence the purchase decisions of their audiences. Social media influencers can be celebrities, bloggers, content creators, thought leaders, industry experts or micro-influencers. Identifying and collaborating with influencers who work in your niche and who would be the best fit for the product you seek to promote will improve the reach of your product greatly. These word of mouth recommendations do not come across as salesy but are very effective in making your ecommerce product a trend and prompting more people to give it a try. The brand does not publish the post under its own banner but asks the influencer to use the product and share their experiences about it, thereby building brand awareness and trust. It is considered more effective than ads by many since it does not try to lure audiences into buying the product but showcases it in the best light along with the credibility rendered by the influencer.
Create engaging explainer videos about the products: Product videos should not be confused with advertisements. Product videos are typically explainer videos that talk about the product, its features, demos and the product in action. This is should be done in a creative and engaging manner on the lines of brand storytelling so that your target audiences come back to your YouTube, Instagram or other pages to check for new content. By entertaining and engaging your target audiences through informative explainer videos, you are promoting your product and improving brand awareness without being salesy.
Customer engagement through social media contests: Social media contests are a great way to build brand awareness and brand loyalty. It grabs the attention of a wide section of audiences without being salesy. You can offer attractive prizes for the contests. Along with the contest, you can also provide incentives for social sharing which will further increase your audience base. Some of the widely used contests are photo and video contests that require participants to share photos/ videos of them using your product, tagging and reposting contests, trivia contests, etc. You must ensure that you clearly establish expectations, rules and regulations early on so that there is no miscommunication at later stages which could be counterproductive for the brand.
Social proof through user-generated content: User-generated content such as reviews, comments, etc. act as social proof and help to humanize the brand without being salesy or blowing your own trumpet. You should not just respond to positive reviews, tweets and post but handle your negative posts in the best possible manner. Being responsive to complaints and feedback will enable you to create a positive brand image and improve brand loyalty.
Build unique brand image: A unique brand image will help your brand to stand out, improve visibility and awareness without running an advertisement or promotional campaign to do this. To this end, you must first build a sound social media strategy and clearly define how you want your brand to come across to your target audiences- do you want to have a fun image or a serious image, etc. You can, accordingly, decide on a brand mascot. For instance, a company that sells child-friendly organic food may want to have a fun and entertaining online presence and brand image. Their social media accounts will reflect this playfulness in its posts and content. A good digital marketing certification course will help you with this.
Behind the scenes content: By giving audiences a peek into what goes on behind the scenes in content creation or product production, will increase the level of customer interest in and connect with the brand. This is another way to humanize the brand giving audiences a glimpse into your people and processes.